(AP) LOS ANGELES
Casey Johnson, the socialite daughter of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and heiress to the Johnson & Johnson business empire has died, a spokesman for the family and police said Monday. She was 30.
TMZ.com reported that Johnson was found dead Monday. Police officers...

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
AP Music Writer
NEW YORK
R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass, who was one of the most electric and successful figures in music until a car crash 28 years ago left him in a wheelchair, has died of colon cancer. He was 59.
Pendergrass died Wednesday in suburban Philadelphia...

The following story courtesy of The Wall Street Journal
By TOM NOLAN
In American popular culture, the private detective is a unique heroic figure: champion of last resort for the vulnerable client, a knight-errant for hire, bringing rough or poetic justice to cases unserved by more...

By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES - Jean Simmons, whose ethereal screen presence and starring roles with Hollywood's top actors made her a mid-century film icon, has died at age 80.
The actress, who sang with Marlon Brando in "Guys and Dolls;" costarred with Gregory Peck,...

The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Pernell Roberts, the ruggedly handsome actor who shocked Hollywood by leaving TV's "Bonanza" at the height of its popularity, then found fame again years later on "Trapper John, M.D.," has died. He was 81.
Roberts, the last surviving member of the classic...

Howard Zinn »
Author, teacher and political activist whose leftist "A People's History of the United States" became an alternative to mainstream texts.

DIED: January 27, 2010

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer
Howard Zinn, an author, teacher and political activist whose leftist "A People's History of the United States" sold a million copies and became an alternative to mainstream texts and a favorite of such celebrities as Bruce Springsteen and Ben Affleck, died...

By HILLEL ITALIE, AP National Writer
NEW YORK
J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose "The Catcher in the Rye" shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91.
Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the...

John Murtha »
Democratic representative from Pennsylvania, voice of veterans on Capitol Hill and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War.

DIED: February 8, 2010

By PETER JACKSON, Associated Press Writer
HARRISBURG, Pa.
Rep. John Murtha, the tall, gruff-mannered former Marine who became the de facto voice of veterans on Capitol Hill and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War, died Monday following complications from gallbladder...

Phil Harris »
The fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the television show "Deadliest Catch."

DIED: February 9, 2010

The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain whose adventures off the Alaska coast were captured on the television show "Deadliest Catch", has died, the Discovery Channel said Tuesday night. He was 53.
Harris suffered what his family described as a massive...

Alexander McQueen »
Brilliant and controversial British fashion designer whose designs were worn by A-list celebrities all over the world.

DIED: February 11, 2010

By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer
LONDON
Brilliant and controversial British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was found dead in his London home Thursday after anguished Internet postings that revealed his deep sorrow at the death of his mother. He was 40 years old.
The...

By ANNE GEARAN, AP National Security Writer
WASHINGTON
Soldier and statesman, Alexander Haig never lived down his televised response to the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. Haig died Saturday at age 85 having held high posts in three Republican administrations and some...

Merlin Olsen »
Pro Football Hall of Famer who also starred in NFL broadcasts, commercials, and as Jonathan Garvey on the TV series "Little House on the Prairie."

DIED: March 11, 2010

By DOUG ALDEN, AP Sports Writer
SALT LAKE CITY
Hall of Famer Merlin Olsen, who helped form one of the NFL's greatest defensive lines before embarking on a successful career in television, died Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 69.
Olsen was a member of the Los Angeles Rams' ...

Peter Graves »
Actor best known for his portrayal of Jim Phelps, leader of a gang of special agents in the television series "Mission: Impossible."

DIED: March 14, 2010

By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES
Peter Graves, the tall, stalwart actor likely best known for his portrayal of Jim Phelps, leader of a gang of special agents who battled evil conspirators in the long-running television series "Mission: Impossible," died Sunday.
Graves...

SANTA YNEZ, Calif. — Actor Fess Parker, who became every baby boomer's idol in the 1950s and launched a craze for coonskin caps as television's Davy Crockett, died Thursday of natural causes. He was 85.
Family spokeswoman Sao Anash said Parker, who was also TV's Daniel Boone and later a major...

Jaime Escalante »
The math teacher who transformed a tough East Los Angeles high school and inspired the movie "Stand and Deliver."

DIED: March 30, 2010

(Associated Press)
By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES
Jaime Escalante, the math teacher who transformed a tough East Los Angeles high school and inspired the movie "Stand and Deliver," died Tuesday. He was 79.
Escalante died at his son's home near Sacramento,...

John Forsythe »
Actor who made his fortune as the scheming oil tycoon in TV's "Dynasty" and the voice of 'Charlie' in "Charlie's Angels."

DIED: April 1, 2010

By By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES — John Forsythe, the handsome, smooth-voiced actor who made his fortune as the scheming oil tycoon in TV's "Dynasty" and the voice of the leader of "Charlie's Angels" has died after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 92.
Forsythe died...

Wilma Mankiller »
Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller, one of the few women ever to lead a major American Indian tribe.

DIED: April 6, 2010

(Associated Press)
By ROCHELLE HINES and MURRAY EVANS
Associated Press Writers
OKLAHOMA CITY
Former Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma Mankiller, one of the few women ever to lead a major American Indian tribe, has died. She was 64.
Tribal spokesman Mike Miller said Mankiller, who became...

LOS ANGELES
"Designing Women" star Dixie Carter, whose Southern charm and natural beauty won her a host of television roles, has died at age 70.
Carter died Saturday morning, according to publicist Steve Rohr, who represents Carter and her husband, actor Hal Holbrook. He declined to disclose...

By JIM HEINTZ
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) -- Polish President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's highest military and civilian leaders died when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia on Saturday, killing 96, officials said.
...

By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II, Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE
Civil rights leader Benjamin L. Hooks, who shrugged off courtroom slurs as a young lawyer before earning a pioneering judgeship and reviving a flagging NAACP, died Thursday in Memphis. He was 85.
Across the country, political...

Dorothy Irene Height »
The leading female voice of the 1960s civil rights movement and a participant in historic marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

DIED: April 20, 2010

By BEN EVANS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
Dorothy Height, the leading female voice of the 1960s civil rights movement and a participant in historic marches with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, died Tuesday. She was 98.
Height, whose activism on behalf of women and minorities...

By STEPHEN WILSON and PAUL LOGOTHETIS, AP Sports Writers
BARCELONA, Spain
Juan Antonio Samaranch, a reserved but shrewd dealmaker whose 21-year term as president of the International Olympic Committee was marked by both the unprecedented growth of the games and its biggest ethics scandal,...

Lynn Redgrave »
1960s sensation who played "Georgy Girl" and later dramatized her troubled past in one-woman stage performances.

DIED: May 3, 2010

By HILLEL ITALIE and MICHAEL KUCHWARA, Associated Press Writers
NEW YORK - Lynn Redgrave, an introspective and independent player in her family's acting dynasty who became a 1960s sensation as the unconventional title character of "Georgy Girl" and later dramatized her troubled past in such one...

Walter Joseph Hickel »
Former Alaska Gov. who served as Interior secretary under President Nixon until he was dismissed for objecting to the treatment of Vietnam War protesters

DIED: May 7, 2010

(Associated Press)
By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
Former Alaska Gov. Walter J. Hickel, who served as Interior secretary under President Nixon until he was dismissed for objecting to the treatment of Vietnam War protesters, has died at age 90.
The two-time...

Lena Horne »
Jazz singer and actress who helped integrate the Hollywood studios made her way to Broadway superstardom.

DIED: May 9, 2010

By VERENA DOBNIK, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK
Lena Horne, the enchanting jazz singer and actress who reviled the bigotry that allowed her to entertain white audiences but not socialize with them, slowing her rise to Broadway superstardom, has died. She was 92.
Horne died Sunday at...

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Editor
NEW YORK
Even as he endured grueling chemotherapy treatments to rid his stomach of cancer, Ronnie James Dio showed the fiery passion that made him a metal legend, flashing his famous devil's horns signal as he lay in a hospital bed.
"This hasn't...

Art Linkletter »
His "People Are Funny" and "House Party" shows entertained millions of TV viewers in the 1950s and '60s with the funny side of ordinary folks.

DIED: May 26, 2010

By LYNN ELBER, AP Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES
Art Linkletter, whose "People Are Funny" and "House Party" shows entertained millions of TV viewers in the 1950s and '60s with the funny side of ordinary folks and who remained active as a writer and speaker through his ninth decade, died...

By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer
PROVO, Utah
Gary Coleman, the adorable, pint-sized child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" who spent the rest of his life struggling on Hollywood's D-list, died Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.
Coleman was...

Dennis Hopper »
Actor who starred in "Rebel Without a Cause," "Easy Rider" and "Blue Velvet."

DIED: May 29, 2010

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES
Dennis Hopper, the high-flying Hollywood wild man whose memorable and erratic career included an early turn in "Rebel Without a Cause," an improbable smash with "Easy Rider" and a classic character role in "Blue Velvet," has died. He...

Rue McClanahan »
Emmy-winning actress who played Blanche Devereaux on the hit TV series "The Golden Girls."

DIED: June 3, 2010

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
NEW YORK
Rue McClanahan, the Emmy-winning actress who brought the sexually liberated Southern belle Blanche Devereaux to life on the hit TV series "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 76.
Her manager, Barbara Lawrence, said McClanahan died Thursday at...

Gone, but not forgotten: UCLA fetes John Wooden
October 14, 2009
BETH HARRIS, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tyler Trapani would always celebrate his great-grandfather's birthday with a family dinner for the man known to his loved ones as "Papa."
That won't...

Jimmy Dean »
Country music legend for his smash hit, "Big Bad John," and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand

DIED: June 13, 2010

DENA POTTER, The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Jimmy Dean, a country music legend for his smash hit about a workingman hero, "Big Bad John," and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand, died on Sunday. He was 81.
His wife, Donna Meade Dean, said her husband died at their Henrico...

BARRY HATTON, The Associated Press
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Jose Saramago, who became the first Portuguese-language winner of the Nobel Literature prize although his popularity at home was dampened by his unflinching support for Communism, blunt manner and sometimes difficult prose style, died...

Sen. Robert Byrd »
The longest serving U.S. Senator who rose from the poverty of West Virginia coal country

DIED: June 28, 2010

ANDREW TAYLOR, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert C. Byrd, who rose from the poverty of West Virginia coal country to become the sage and conscience of the U.S. Senate in a political career stretching more than half a century, died Monday. He was 92.
Byrd's desk in the Senate...

RONALD BLUM, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Sheppard, whose stylish, elegant stadium introductions of New York Yankees from Joltin' Joe to Derek Jeter spanned more than a half century and earned him the nickname "The Voice of God," died Sunday. He was 99.
Sheppard, a gentle man...

Harvey Pekar »
Cult comic writer whose autobiographical series "American Splendor" inspired the movie of the same name

DIED: July 12, 2010

JAKE COYLE, The Associated Press
CLEVELAND (AP) — Harvey Pekar, whose autobiographical comic book series "American Splendor" portrayed his unglamorous life with bone-dry honesty and wit, was found dead at home early Monday, authorities said. He was 70.
The cause of death was unclear, and an...

RONALD BLUM, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — He was baseball's bombastic Boss.
He rebuilt the New York Yankees dynasty, ushering in the era of multimillion-dollar salaries and accepting nothing less in return than World Series championships.
He fired managers. Rehired them. And...

REBECCA BOONE, The Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Vernon Baker, a black U.S. soldier who belatedly received the Medal of Honor for his World War II battlefield valor after historians concluded he'd been wrongly denied the military's top award because of his race, died at his home near St...

BRETT ZONGKER, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Daniel Schorr, whose journalism career over more than six decades landed him in the dark corners of Europe during the Cold War and the shadows of President Richard Nixon's notorious "enemies list" in the 1970s, has died. He was 93.
Schorr...

The Associated Press
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee. (AP) — Patricia Neal, the willowy, husky-voiced actress who won an Academy Award for 1963's "Hud" and then survived several strokes to continue acting, died on Sunday. She was 84.
Neal had lung cancer and died surrounded by her family at her home...

MARK THIESSEN, The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — To much of the nation, Ted Stevens was the crotchety senator who famously referred to the Internet as "a series of tubes" and fought to build the "Bridge to Nowhere."
But to his constituents in Alaska, he was "Uncle Ted," the...

DAVID BAUDER, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Edwin Newman, who brought literacy, wit and energy to NBC newscasts for more than three decades, and battled linguistic pretense and clutter in his best sellers "Strictly Speaking" and "A Civil Tongue," has died. He was 91.
Newman died on...

CHARLES J. GANS, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Abbey Lincoln, a jazz singer and songwriter known for her phrasing, emotion and uncompromising style, died Saturday in New York at age 80.
She had been declining in health for the past year. Her death was confirmed by friend and...

BEN WALKER, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — We've heard the frenzied call forever, echoing through baseball lore.
"The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!"
Bobby Thomson, the man immortalized with his "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in 1951, died Monday night at his...

The Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — Standup comic Robert Schimmel, a frequent guest on Howard Stern's radio show, has died after suffering serious injuries in a car accident. He was 60.
Schimmel's spokesman, Howard Bragman, said Schimmel died Friday evening in a Phoenix hospital.
...

RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Long before the era of Brangelina, TMZ and around-the-clock celebrity obsession, Eddie Fisher had a leading role in arguably the most explosive sex scandal of Hollywood's golden age.
He was a music superstar and household name to...

Arthur Penn »
Film director of 'Bonnie and Clyde' and 'Little Big Man'

DIED: September 28, 2010

MIKE STEWART, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — "Bonnie and Clyde" wasn't a movie that director Arthur Penn wanted to make, but when he finally agreed to, he made sure that the violence provoked by the lawbreaking couple from the 1930s — and that led to the protagonists' bullet-riddled...

NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, The Associated Press
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Solomon Burke was born to the sound of music in an upstairs room of a Philadelphia church and went on to become one of the greatest soul singers of the 1960s, renowned as among music's premiere vocalists.
Yet his popularity never...

COLLEEN BARRY, The Associated Press
GENEVA (AP) — Joan Sutherland's radiant soprano stretched effortlessly over more than three octaves, with a purity of tone that made her one of the most celebrated opera singers of all time.
Acclaimed "La Stupenda," — "the Stupendous One" — during a...

CHRISTOPHER WEBER, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The affection people had for "Leave it to Beaver" many years after the series ended was a source of both surprise and satisfaction for Barbara Billingsley, who endeared herself to TV viewers with her gentle portrayal of the mother of...

BOB THOMAS, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whether he played a small-town sheriff, a murder-solving priest or the father of 1950s teens in "Happy Days," the show that made him famous, Tom Bosley was a warm and comforting presence on TV sets in America and around the world .
Bosley,...

TERRY WALLACE, The Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — Bob Guccione tried the seminary and spent years trying to make it as an artist before he found the niche that Hugh Hefner left for him in the late 1960s. Where Hefner's Playboy magazine strove to surround its pinups with an upscale image,...

HILLEL ITALIE, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Of the courtiers to Camelot's king, Theodore C. Sorensen ranked just below Bobby Kennedy. He was the adoring, tireless speechwriter and confidant to President John F. Kennedy, whose term was marked by Cold War struggles, growing civil rights...

JOE KAY, The Associated Press
Reds fans were taken aback when Sparky Anderson showed up in Cincinnati for his first day as a big league manager, an unknown taking over baseball's first professional team.
Sparky who?
Really?
By the time he was done, this man with the shock of white hair...

DERRIK J. LANG, The Associated Press
Jill Clayburgh, the sophisticated Hollywood and Broadway actress known for portrayals of empowered women in a career spanning five decades, highlighted by her Oscar-nominated role of a divorcee exploring life after marriage in the 1978 film "An Unmarried...

HILLEL ITALIE, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — He was a small man who dreamed big, hit the highest heights and failed like few others.
Dino De Laurentiis was born to be a movie producer.
The Academy Award-winning legend of the Italian New Wave and producer of "Serpico" and ...

The Associated Press
SHERBROOKE, Quebec (AP) — Pat Burns, the former Montreal police officer who led New Jersey to the 2003 Stanley Cup title and was the NHL's coach of the year with three teams, died Friday. He was 58.
Burns battled cancer of the colon and the liver in 2004 and 2005 and...

MIKE FITZPATRICK, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Gil McDougald, an All-Star infielder who helped the New York Yankees win five World Series championships during the 1950s, has died. He was 82.
McDougald died Sunday of prostate cancer at his home in Wall Township, N.J., the Yankees...

Leslie Nielsen »
Actor, most known for his "second career" as the comic lead in "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun" movies

DIED: November 28, 2010

ANDREW DALTON, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Despite decades spent playing sober commanders and serious captains, Leslie Nielsen insisted that he was always made for comedy. He proved it in his career's second act.
"Surely you can't be serious," an airline passenger says to...

RICK GANO, The Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Ron Santo's love for the Chicago Cubs stretched from his days as a standout third baseman who one season even jumped and clicked his heels to celebrate victories to the two decades he spent unabashedly pulling for his team as a broadcaster.
As...

KILEY ARMSTRONG, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Elaine Kaufman, the colorful restaurateur whose East Side establishment, Elaine's, became a haven for show business and literary notables, died Friday at the age of 81.
Kaufman died at a Manhattan hospital of complications from chronic...

Don Meredith »
Dallas Cowboys quarterback and one of the original broadcast team for "Monday Night Football"

DIED: December 5, 2010

JAIME ARON, The Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — Don Meredith was the happiest, most fun-loving guy wherever he went, whether crooning country tunes in the huddle as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys or jawing with Howard Cosell in the broadcast booth as analyst on the groundbreaking "Monday...

Elizabeth Edwards »
Estranged wife of former North Carolina Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate, John Edwards

DIED: December 7, 2010

MIKE BAKER, The Associated Press
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Elizabeth Edwards, who closely advised her husband in two bids for the presidency and advocated for health care even as her own health and marriage publicly crumbled, died Tuesday after a six-year struggle with cancer. She was 61.
...

The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Few U.S. diplomats had the breadth, depth or length of service of Richard Holbrooke, who wrote part of the Pentagon Papers, was the architect of the 1995 Bosnia peace accords and served as President Barack Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and...

JAKE COYLE, The Associated Press
When Julie Andrews began writing her 2008 autobiography, "Home," her husband Blake Edwards had just one piece of advice: "Characters make your story."
In an up-and-down career that spanned writing, directing and producing nearly 50 films, Edwards, who died...

NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Teena Marie's last album, "Congo Square," was titled after a historical meeting place for slaves in New Orleans, featured a tribute to Martin Luther King's widow and also song "Black Cool," written for President Barack Obama.
No...

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